Misconceptions
by rainkissed
Summary: Elves have always been close with nature.. but Jestial the she-elf, Legolas' good friend, may be one with nature itself. [romance comes in later. =)]
1. Default Chapter

DiScLaiMeRs: standard. Don't own, won't own, can't own. =)  
  
Chapter 1: Delusion  
  
He watched, intrigued, as the doe lowered its long lashes and sipped tentatively at the crystal clear pool of water. Nothing but the muted songs of birds could be heard, save the gentle lapping of waves against the banks. He stepped forward out of his hiding place behind the trees, and startled, the doe raised her head and backed delicately a few steps away: not frightened, but scrutinizing him.  
  
"I won't hurt you," he murmured to her, slowly extending his palm towards her nose. Hesitating only for a fraction of a second, she gently placed her muzzle into his outstretched hand, completely trusting the elf with her life. He began stroking her gently along the delicate curves lining her big brown eyes, occasionally crooning words of comfort, and the moment became more than magical for him.  
  
Suddenly, an arrow flew out of the forest growth without so much of a sound until it arrived and struck the doe on her side, wounding her fatally. So horrifically enraptured was he in the moment that he was caught off guard, and he cursed himself for it. As he was telling himself this, another arrow came and embedded itself into her tender flesh. She cried out silently¡K and that's when he finally regained enough sense to quickly pull a feathered arrow out of his quiver and send it whistling into a squealing orc. But she was dying, and as her clouded orbs fluttered open one last time, she uttered, "Legolas¡K I trusted you¡K"  
  
Horrified, the he-elf opened his eyes wide and clutched blindly at the doe's head. "What?" he asked in a frenzied craze. "Who are you?"  
  
The deer's figure writhed in a blinding light, and it changed into a she-elf with light honey-colored hair¡K a dying one. She raised her sunlight-dusted lashes and sought his face with her fading auburn eyes as blood continued to pour from her damaged body onto his hands. "I trusted you¡K" she whispered.  
  
  
Legolas awoke abruptly from the sickening dream in cold sweat. Sunlight filtered into his room, but he felt a chill on his skin like no other.  
  
"Greenleeaaaaf!" a singsong voice floated into the chamber through the thick morning air. "Are you being a sleepyhead again!" it came out more as a demand of knowing rather than a query. Groaning, he sat up and assessed the situation. It was five in the morning, he was naked waist and above in his bed, and his good friend Jestial the she-elf, daughter of Galadriel, was going to burst into his room any moment.  
  
"NO. No no no no no!" he tried to emphasize his point on her breaking in with useless words, for not a moment too late did he find himself scrunched up unceremoniously against his bedpost. Her tingly laughter filled the room, and her golden brown hair cascaded onto the covers as she flopped herself comfortably on his bed.  
  
"No as in you're not being a sleepyhead, or no as in don't come in?" she teased.  
  
Ignoring the comment, Legolas said with as much composure as possible: "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE YOU DOING?!" he tried covering up his bare chest with as much sheet as he could salvage.  
  
She rolled to an unoccupied place on his bed and frowned lightly. "What I do every morning," she answered matter-of-factly.  
  
"No, you don't!" Legolas drew his bed covers up to conceal everything but his eyes. "Now go away and give me some time to put on something decent."  
  
Grumbling, Jestial headed back out the way she came from [the window], and landed gracefully on her bare feet below. "Well good riddance anyway!" she hmphed in a most unladylike way.  
  
Legolas grinned slightly to himself, putting on his tunic and preparing to take off his "sleeping pants" for some better-suited trousers. When he was half way through the process, he heard a distant "Haaa!" become a "HAAA!" as it came closer and he was bowled over by the impact of a Jestial hurling herself onto him. She smiled cattily down at him. 'Take that, you square,' she thought. But glancing down at her friend affirmed that she was perched on top of a more than half-naked elf. A more than half-naked he-elf for that matter. She shrieked.  
  
"Take what?" Legolas growled, annoyed.  
  
She acted as if she did nothing out of the ordinary, and didn't answer immediately, but got up and dusted herself down. Then she looked down on him mockingly [as he was still sprawled on the floor] and aimed a good one right between¡K  
  
"AUGH!"  
  
Jestial smiled in satisfaction as she strode out of the door, as she had gotten the response she had hoped for.  
  
"What the #)(%*#%!" Legolas commented in a most unelfly manner. His payback was a well-aimed piece of metal in the shape of some animal [her necklace charm] that bounced none too lightly off his forehead. "#)(%*@!"  
  
  
When he had finally gotten dressed without further interruption from friends, family, or foe, he prepared to make his way cautiously out of his room by the means of a "secret" trapdoor. Apparently it wasn't secret anymore, because as he opened the flap, he found Jestial's brown eyes gazing at him mischievously. "What is it NOW?" he rolled his eyes.  
  
She sat down cross-legged conversationally in the middle of the tunnel. "Sit," she commanded, and patted the area in front of her. When the Elf prince failed to comply, she dragged him headfirst into the tunnel by both his arms until both of them were in the stuffy dark. The door swished shut behind the sore elf and he managed to gather whatever remained of his dignity to sit. "Leggylace?" she whispered.  
  
"What¡K" came the grumble.  
  
"I can't see you in this light."  
  
"What light, dear friend of mine," Legolas' voice was practically oozing sarcasm. After all, he was still half-awake, and not very good at being it. He stifled a yawn. "So what is it?"  
  
There wasn't response from Jestial, but a faint orb of light glowed in her left palm. It illuminated her face so that her fair elf complexion was flickering in the light of the flame that did not burn. "Better?" she said softly.  
  
"What in the name of Elendil's teeth is that?" Legolas spluttered. "Is this witchcraft?"  
  
Jestial looked at him like he was stupid or something. "Of course not, silly! It's called 'soul's fire.' It's supposed to light up dark places when other lights go out¡K kind of like the vial my mother gave master Frodo, but it comes from within an elf."  
  
"How-"  
  
"The purer an elf's soul is, the brighter the light."  
  
"B-but¡K how do you make it?" Legolas was clearly fascinated, and he was expecting some elaborate explanation. But Jestial just shrugged.  
  
"I don't know, I just know that I know how to do it," she simply said. "So anyhow," she changed to subject abruptly, as if this one pained her.  
  
"Yes¡K" Legolas trailed off. "Where were we?"  
  
"Oh yes, you asked me what I wanted," she ran a hand distractedly through her honey-colored and flavored hair.  
  
"Ah, that I did," he echoed. "So what is it?"  
  
"I want to tell you something¡K a secret, if you promise to keep it that way," Jestial lowered her voice a few notches. "It's very important, and urgent¡K in an aspect I can't quite grasp yet." He motioned for her to go on. "It's¡K" she started, but it seemed as if an invisible hand had closed over her throat. "It's¡K" she choked out. "It's just¡K" she repeated hoarsely, putting a hand over her mouth, and blood trickled from the gaps.  
  
Legolas didn't know what to do, as this was the first time he saw something so¡K terribly unnerving. "Jestial, what's wrong?" his voice went higher a few pitches out of panic. He got no answer save her gasping, but the blood dribbling down her chin and onto her dress affirmed him that this was something not to be taken lightly. Her hand fell away, and she slowly fell forward till her head rested lifelessly against his shoulder. "JESTIAL!" Legolas shook her, but her eyes remained blank and unseeing. Still shocked, his movements were rigid as he brought her out of the passage and onto his bedspread. He couldn't leave her by herself, this he knew, but he had to get immediate help¡K so he set out to find a healer. As he was running out of his room, he saw a figure's head pull its head abruptly away from the window, and then saw a deer leaping its way out into the distance. Troubled at the heart, he heard a nagging voice somewhere in his head say: "Legolas¡K I trusted you¡K"  
  
  
A/N: It may be confusing at first, sollees¡K but I promise the story'll unravel soon. =) Reviews would be nice, hehe. 


	2. Illusion

Chapter 2

To his surprise, it was fairly easy to treat Jestial¡¦s ¡¥ailment,¡¦ but the healer had mentioned there was an aura of overhanging¡K vileness around her at that time. ¡¥Evil?¡¦ Leoglas had scoffed, ¡¥Impossible! Jestial is the most innocent elf I have ever met!¡¦ The reply was somewhat ambiguous: Beware.

He was still pondering this thought when he arrived at her door. Even before he had a chance to knock lightly on the door, her faint voice answered: ¡§Please come in, Prince of Mirkwood.¡¨ Slowly, he swung open the door and stepped inside. The room was dark but for a few lamps¡K and her soul¡¦s fire flickering in her palm¡Xwhich she was staring at. Neither of them spoke, and at last she sighed and said, ¡§What question might you have on your mind?¡¨

He didn¡¦t say anything; he stood there staring at her pale figure standing by the window, casting only a slight shadow on the unsoiled floor. After the incident, she seemed more withdrawn, and¡K mature. That was all he could think of to describe the new feeling he got from her. Now instead of the joyful, bouncing Jestial, she was replaced with a quieter and more serious elf, yet serene at the same time.

¡§Pray, speak,¡¨ she beckoned to him softly. ¡§Your mind is troubled.¡¨

¡§Jess, why have you changed so much?¡¨ he asked, perplexed.

¡§Change is not entirely bad, Legolas.¡¨

He sat down on the edge of her bed, whilst she still stood near the balcony, but she sensed his movement and turned to face him. ¡§Nay, but you¡¦re so¡K different.¡¨

She laughed softly, the regret and sorrow clear in her voice. ¡§Difference, similarities¡K they are but an illusion creatures on earth create to separate and join things.¡¨

Taken aback by the sudden yet accurate perception of it all, Legolas could only gape at her. But the spell was soon broken as he watched her sit tiredly on a chair near her dresser. ¡§Why do you have to drive and weary yourself so?¡¨ he burst forth.

She lifted her head to look him in the eyes. ¡§Weary? It is but a pebble from a mountain compared to what many others have to endure.¡¨ Jestial saw his eyes darken, and could feel his thoughts, which read: ¡¥But it hurts me to see you this way¡K there¡¦s something you won¡¦t tell me¡K why won¡¦t you let me share your burden?¡¦ She smiled gently. ¡§Do not worry yourself over me, Legolas.¡¨

¡§And why ever not?¡¨ he countered.

¡§I¡¦m not worth your time.¡¨

¡§Stop being so selfless!¡¨ he clenched his fists. ¡§Will you not laugh and be carefree like you once were?¡¨

¡§To do so would be selfish.¡¨ Now she seemed taller, wiser, and more grief-stricken than before. ¡§And it would be selfish of me to tell you, to let you be involved in something you shouldn¡¦t.¡¨

¡§Pray, stop talking in riddles,¡¨ he implored.

¡§I am not, Prince, I¡¦m merely trying to define selfishness for you in my own terms.¡¨

¡§Jess, what the (%*#& happened to you?¡¨ Legolas leapt up from his position on the bed. ¡§You never called me ¡¥Prince,¡¦ or spoke in puzzles that confuse the mind, and you never kept any secrets from me!¡¨

¡§Never is a strong word, Legolas, use it wisely.¡¨

Exasperated and frustrated, he sat back down. ¡§Then it does not matter, if you do not wish to divulge your pain to me, you need not to,¡¨ he relented.

¡§Very well, noble Elf,¡¨ she spoke with only a hint of misery subdued. ¡§But I will tell you one thing¡K my soul¡¦s fire is dimmer now.¡¨ Jestial held out her palm with the flame shining somewhat less than what he saw last time. ¡§I do not know the reason behind this, but it is an ill omen indeed.¡¨

Legolas did not heed her words, but stood up. Worried, Jestial also got up from the chair she was sitting on. ¡§Don¡¦t¡X¡§ she began, but was cut off when he pulled her into a tight embrace. ¡§What are you doing?¡¨ she whispered, pulling away slightly.

¡§What any good friend would have done in this situation,¡¨ he answered simply. ¡§Please, Jestial, don¡¦t leave me behind¡K¡¨

She smiled a genuine smile, albeit small. ¡§I won¡¦t, elves are ageless, you have forgotten?¡¨ she joked lightly.

¡§Yes, but it seems you have aged in a day, friend.¡¨ Silence followed his last statement, and this time he did not bother to break it. Jestial moved closer to him, tracing a slender finger down his cheekbone.

¡§Nay, you¡¦ll always be older by a century¡K and do not waste your time. Dear friend Elf, say you¡¦ll always be there for me.¡¨

¡§I¡¦ve always been, Jestial,¡¨ he murmured softly. ¡§Just don¡¦t grow up too quickly for me¡K today I behaved akin to a child compared to you.¡¨ And this time it was her turn to hold him close, though soothingly, unlike his. Legolas suddenly thought of the necklace charm she had thrown at him earlier, and he took it out of his pocket to return it to its owner. ¡§You left this here,¡¨ he started, but Jestial¡¦s head was unusually heavy on his shoulder, and when he lifted her chin up, her eyes were blank again. Her body was completely limp¡K lifeless almost if not for the almost undetectable breath she drew. Once again, he saw a fleeting glimpse of a hoofed animal run away into the distance. He tried not to panic.


End file.
